LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The call grows louder for improved access to services on the outskirts of Jefferson County, and now a new report is calling for legislation to make that happen.
A 15-person commission wrote the report, which reviewed the effectiveness of the merger. The commission was formed after the legislature passed a bill in 2022, with the purpose of determining areas the merger falls short and issuing recommendations for improvement.
It's been 20 years since the City of Louisville and the county merged, and while it's allowed for bigger budgets, those living in the suburbs have been frustrated, paying taxes for certain services they claim they never see.
The report had several recommendations. One calls for city board leaders to better reflect the diversity of each neighborhood.
"We think it's really important that we make sure we have people that live inside the Watterson, the west end, the south end, Old Louisville and the east end being represented on boards," state Rep. Jason Nemes, the bill's sponsor, said.
He added it's important that citizens from all over the community have a voice.
The commission also recommended Metro Government work with suburban police departments to provide better policing across the county.
"When we're paying taxes for a service like police service and we're not getting adequate service and then you have to pay more we're wanting to make sure that when we look at how we police our community that LMPD also polices eastern Jefferson County because we also pay taxes," Nemes said.
Meanwhile Jerry McGraw, a Lake Forest resident, agrees.
He's concerned with the time it often takes officers to get to his area since Lake Forest doesn't have it's own police department.
"We don't have officers here most time we have to depend upon the 8th Division of Louisville Metro and that can be a problem," McGraw said.
He is also concerned with emergency care services and how they're dispatched.
"It doesn't resolve the issue that 40% of Anchorage-Middletown ambulances are serving other areas outside the area that I as a tax payer am paying for," McGraw said.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg called the merger a success for the city.
"While I support these proposals, I oppose the recommendation limiting Louisville Metro EMS to the urban services district; this proposal would raise taxes for thousands of Louisville families and further fracture emergency services in the metro region," he said.
But Nemes saw major room for improvement.
"I think merger has done a lot of good things for our community but it's not lived up to it's promise and so we are trying to push in that direction," he said.
McGraw said he thinks the merger did a great job, but there is still work to be done.
Overall they're hoping the city improves as a result of this report.
The next step is for Kentucky's Republican-dominated General Assembly to choose whether to implement any of the commission's recommendations. They can do that by either passing new laws or through a referendum.
Technically, Metro Government could adopt some changes too. But many of its leaders, particularly in Metro Council, are Democrats, who largely believe the report was predetermined by those who crafted the bill.
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